Ghost Buffalo

With artwork that bears a vague resemblance to the cover of the Eagles' One of These Nights, Ghost Buffalo's six-song debut looks like it might be a throwback to 1970s West Coast country rock. And it is, sort of: Singer/guitarist Marie Litton sounds linked in psychic and sonic empathy with the aching twang of early Linda Ronstadt. But the fact that two of the four members of Planes Mistaken for Stars -- guitarist Matt Bellinger and drummer Mike Ricketts -- are counted among the group's lineup is plainly apparent. Instead of Planes' trademark uproar, though, Bellinger and Ricketts bring to the table a penchant for tension and complexity that plucks post-hardcore and replants it in a bone-dry landscape full of tumbleweeds, rumbling skies and the cavernous expanses of loneliness and loss. This isn't your dad's honky-tonk, your uncle's cow punk or even your ex-lover's alt-country; rather, Ghost Buffalo lends an anxious heart and fresh, tender soul to the country-rock tradition.